So, I'm playing this, the original SNES game that started the whole shebang.

Does this game ever get better? So far it's quickly becoming one of the most abysmally boring RPGs I've ever played. Granted, it probably doesn't help that I'm also in the middle of Dragon Warrior II and Elder Scrolls: Arena (yea I'm an old-schooler), which are far more engaging games in general, but I'm running out of reasons to keep playing this one. The gameplay isn't engaging--the battles are too much a matter of "have Bo and Ryu attack while Nina uses the Earth Key" and the story, so far, has been my characters getting yoyoed into a bunch of tangential events.

Breath of Fire II is a great game. As Eusis said, it actually tried for a story which was original at the time. The first one is just a dungeon crawler with a high encounter rate and a story that makes Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest look like a Shakespeare tragedy.

I have fond memories of Breath of Fire, but I never did beat I and II. I should get back to them someday. I did, however, beat III and IV. III was like the first two games, but with a way better story. IV was strange, in that, it had an ancient oriental theme. Weird for a Breath of Fire game, anyhow.

For me it pretty much goes 3-2-4-5-1, from best to worst. The initial instalment was basically Capcom's first foray into RPGs, and didn't even try at being original. It did an all right job at being serviceable, but much better was available at the time. The second was a huge improvement, especially with how the Shamans worked and so forth. The only thing that ever annoyed me there was the back-and-forthing you had to do throughout. Too much walking. >_<

Honestly, the GBA remakes are generally better experiences, so if you want to try an enjoy the first one at all, I'd shell out for the update.

BoF3 - 85%. Good solid RPG fun for the PS1. Pretty graphics, decent gameplay, and I liked the characters.

BoF4 - 80%. Although the split storyline was an interesting idea, on the whole this just felt like a slightly worse retread of the third game.

BoF2 - 75% (85% when it was new). Pretty standard RPG gameplay even in the SNES era, but there weren't as many choices for RPGs as we have now and BoF2 was one of the better ones. The shaman system was fun though clunky (hate how it would automatically mess up your selections at points in the story). The story tried hard, but was really messed up by really poorly written text. Still moderately entertaining even now though.

BoF1 - 60% (70% when it was new). Pretty generic RPG with good graphics for the time. Hasn't aged very well.

On a side note, Dragon Warrior 2 a much better experience? Don't get me wrong, I loved it when it came out, but that's because it was the first real, honest to goodness RPG that I had ever played (DW1 & Zelda don't count). Even with all the nostalgia I have of it, I can't play it for more than an hour or so these days before giving up in disgust.

I love the whole series. BOF I and II have a dear place in my heart. So does III. I restarted the game a couple years ago, but ended up before beating - not because it "has not aged well" though.I guess any game with a high nostalgia value is good to me, even if they were really crude.By the way, wasn't the first BOF developed - or published whatever - by then Squaresoft? I heard something like that.

I seem to remember the situation was that Capcom made the game, Square was only involved with the US release because Capcom thought it would sell better if Square's name was on it.

Quote from: "Robert Boyd"

On a side note, Dragon Warrior 2 a much better experience?

Heck yes.

DWII's battles are an actual challenge and I have to change up my tactics every once in awhile. The world keeps me wondering "what's over those hills?" or "what's around that corner?" and "I hope I'm tough enough to handle these new beasties." And "I don't have enough money for both, so do I need better weapons or better armor more?" It made you work for your progress, and made me feel like I was actually accomplishing something when I was finally powerful enough to beat that baboon with a minimal of hassle.

Breath of Fire hands me a powerful, unlimited-use item (the Earth Key) right at the beginning of the game, the battles are all basically a matter of using the same strategy again and again, I'm never concerned about running into something that might overpower me except maybe a boss (even then, all the ones I've faced so far have been beaten with simple beatdown tactics). The game world isn't interesting to explore in the least, in fact it's pretty tedious, and the game basically hands you all the money you'll ever need.

Heck, the way BoF plays, you might as well start out at level fifty with all the best weapons and armor and with unlimited money.